Esther Ione Staab, 95, of Cranberry, passed away on Monday morning, January 20, 2025.
She was born October 4, 1929, at home in Fern, Clarion County; she was the daughter of the late Berlie Etzel, Sr. and Anna (Wagner) Etzel.
She graduated in 1947 from Ashland High School in Kossuth. Following graduation, she moved to Washington D.C., and worked for the F.B.I. She then returned home to help her family and worked as a telephone operator for the Bell Telephone Company in Bradford, and then later in Oil City.
On December 10, 1950, she married the love of her life, John "Tiny" Staab. He preceded her in death on March 17, 2019.
After Tiny was discharged from the U.S. Navy, they decided to settle in Cranberry, where they built their own home and raised their family. Esther was very proud to be part of the community of Cranberry and was honored to serve the people as Postmaster at the Cranberry 16319 Post Office for over thirty years.
In her younger days, Esther enjoyed skating, square dancing, hunting, bowling, and painting and embroidery. Throughout her retirement, she continued to enjoy traveling to visit relatives, going to reunions, playing cards, doing puzzles, gardening, and canning, the weekly sisters' shopping trip to Ames, the color burgundy, having freshly painted fingernails, and playing Dominoes and eating popsicles on the porch with her great-grandchildren. Above all, she loved spending time with her family and sitting on the porch swing with Tiny with a cup of coffee, looking at "the lay of the land."
Esther is survived by her daughter, Debbie Master and her husband Jack; her son, Gary Staab; her grandchildren: Clarisa Zacherl and husband Aaron, and Nathan Master and wife Jenna; great-grandchildren: Brion Zacherl and wife Anna, Darian Rose Zacherl, Jacob Westfall, and Rylee, Olivia, and Jordan Staab, and Jon, Christopher, and Emma Master; her sisters, Joanne Bell, Betty Curtis, Juanita Kaber and husband Dale; her brother, Thomas Etzel and wife Georgia; a sister-in-law, Rochelle Etzel; and numerous nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by a grandson, Jeremiah Staab; her sisters, Katherine Nuhfer, Mary Webb Morris, and Thelma Steele; and a brother, Berlie Etzel, Jr.
A private funeral ceremony was held, officiated by Pastor David McVay. Her interment was made in Sunset Hill Memorial Gardens in Cranberry.
Esther's family would like to thank the nurses, aides, and staff of Oakwood Heights in Oil City for the wonderful care and compassion that they provided to her.
Private funeral arrangements were completed by Hile-Best Funeral Home in Seneca. To express online condolences to Esther's family, visit www.hilebest.com.
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